


what time is it?

by happygoluka



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, Alternate Universe - Magic, Azula (Avatar) Redemption, Canon-Typical Violence, Don't @ Me, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Fluff and Hurt/Comfort, Friends to Lovers, Gay Sokka (Avatar), Gay Zuko (Avatar), Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, I mean, I promise not a lot of angst tho, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Magic, Meet-Cute, Mentions of past abuse, Mild Hurt/Comfort, Mutual Pining, Plot, This is purely self indulgence, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, Trans Zuko (Avatar), as in ozai's abuse, background kataang, but i swear there also is a very large plot lmao, canon typical ozai lol, chaser zuko, comes into play more in the later chapters but hes definitely trans, evil ozai, hes a seeker yeah nbd, just takes them a lil to figure it out, oh and definitely some background bakoda, prefect sokka, pretty much pure fluff, sokka is a jock but a good jock and also very gay, there's some yueki there's some mailee, yes there is a teashop meet-cute, yes this is a zukka hogwarts au, zukka - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-28
Updated: 2021-02-28
Packaged: 2021-03-08 17:21:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 19,376
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27250381
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/happygoluka/pseuds/happygoluka
Summary: Katara’s magic had always been stronger than Sokka’s. She knew he was afraid to go into the woods alone after their mom died, so she always tried to make it a friendlier place for him, conjuring up whatever little magic she could without any proper training. Sokka’s magic had been so dim, in fact, that Hakoda didn’t even think Sokka had any, until he got the Hogwarts letter. What little Sokka remembers of his mom was the bright and colorful stories of the enchanted castle she got to learn and live in. It had always been a fantasy for him as a child, something that never actually seemed like something he’d get to experience.--A very self-indulgent Zukka Hogwarts AU.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 49
Kudos: 168





	1. Hot Chocolate

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! After many weeks and vague tumblr posts about actually writing this, here we are. This is unbetad because I don't know what that means. Feel free to shoot me a message on tumblr (@happygoluka) if you wanna define that for me or just say hi!

Sokka ran his hands through the hair falling around his face and looked at the clock. 02:28 - GET SOME SLEEP, SOKKA. Katara had charmed it for him after the fourth consecutive day of dark circles under his eyes and nodding off in class during midterm season a few years ago. The library was utterly silent at this hour, the soft glow from his lantern casting warm light onto the textbooks in front of him and making him sleepy. His dry eyes drooped shut, and he figured it might be time to listen to annoying-yet-somehow-still-right-clock-Katara and head back to his room in the Ravenclaw dorms. It was only the third week of the year, but somehow his professors knew how to make his academic life a perfect concoction of exams and essays due almost every week. He thought that OWL prep last year was hard, but the sixth year NEWT curriculum was already kicking his ass.

\---

The next morning at breakfast, Sokka was not in the mood to be talked to. He had just barely made it to the dining hall in time to shove some food in his mouth before his 8am Herbology class, and after less than five hours of sleep the night before, he was not going to try and hide his crabbiness. Sokka’s unlucky victims this morning were Katara and Aang,  _ who always eat breakfast together bright and early, because they just have their life together like that, how the hell do they do it _ ? It certainly didn’t help that Aang was staring at Katara with possibly the most adoring look in the world. Sokka glanced over to see what she did to cause this disgusting gaze of love and saw nothing more than her shoveling hashbrowns into her face.  _ What the fuck? _ Oh well. At least his sister had somebody that loved her even when she was being possibly the most disgusting girl on the planet. 

“Seriously, Katara, are you even going to take a second to breathe?” Sokka snapped.  _ He _ was supposed to be the one in a rush here.

Katara just scrunched her nose at him and stuck out her tongue, not putting down her fork in the meantime. Sokka didn’t even want to  _ look _ at Aang’s reaction, since he knew the same gooey eyed stare would still be on it. 

Okay, Sokka was being unfair. He loves Aang, he really does. No matter how weird he thought it was that Katara was obsessed with some Hufflepuff fourth year, Aang was a great kid. Ever since he had been moved into Sokka and Yue’s third year Herbology class as a first year (since he grew up in a greenhouse and came to Hogwarts with “extreme skill handling mandrakes already”), he had fit right in with their little friend group. He dragged his fellow first year Toph along with Katara and Yue to the Ravenclaw vs. Gryffindor quidditch match one time during their first fall at Hogwarts. Sokka and Suki were going head-to-head as respective seekers and the group had stuck together ever since.

Sokka snapped himself back into the present after a few more bites of warm porridge and reached down to check his clock. 07:53 - YOU’RE GOING TO BE LATE! “Oh would you shut  _ up _ Katara, I know I’m going to be late, I have to run all the way to the fucking greenhouses in seven minutes!” He yelled directly into the timepiece.

“Well, I’m  _ sorry _ that you still don’t know how to manage your time better. I’m only trying to help you, you know.” The real Katara retorted, having moved onto her scrambled eggs. 

“I’m sure you’ll make it if you leave now! Just run really fast!” Aang added with a smile and a thumbs up, but by the time Sokka managed to mutter out a “thanks” he was already out the door.

\---

Okay, this day officially sucked. Sokka had made it into the door of the greenhouses with seconds to spare, and of course he had forgotten that they were working with Venomous Tentacula today. The last thing he wanted was to be impaled by a very poisonous, very large thorned vine. 

Leaving the greenhouses with his robes a little worse for wear, yet still alive, Sokka headed to take his exam in History of Magic. His exhaustion hit him like a wall of bricks when he was done, and Sokka was seriously considering facing the wrath of Professor Hudwick to skip the Divination class he had next. His Friday schedule was brutal. Nobody would notice if he was missing in just  _ one  _ lecture, right? Sokka silently cursed the fact that he was awarded prefect this year. It was a lot easier to fly under the radar when people didn’t expect you to be, well, perfect. He wasn’t sure if that’s what prefect really meant, but it sure sounded like it. 

Begrudgingly, Sokka went to his Divination class. Luckily, he had some allies. Unluckily, said allies were  _ also _ dating.  _ God, I need some new friends who aren’t incestual within this friend group.  _ He walked into the lecture hall, dramatically dropped his bag next to Yue and Suki, and flopped into his seat.

“Good afternoon to you too, Mr. Sunshine,” Suki laughed.

“Babe, don’t push him, I saw him running through the common room half dressed this morning trying to make it to breakfast.” Despite the innocent words, Yue’s tone was wholeheartedly teasing. 

“Yeah, yeah. You guys try running on five hours of sleep, having to tame a magical plant who is literally trying to kill you, sit for an exam, and now listen to Hudwick groan on and on about how I misinterpreted this certain type of twig to mean I’m going to have a  _ shitty _ day instead of a  _ horrible _ day.” 

“To be fair, they are kind of different, I guess?” Suki replied. Sokka just scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out. No matter how much the two girls annoyed him at the moment, he was glad that having class together forced them to hang out. Sokka’s schedule was insanely busy this year (who was he kidding, it was insanely busy every year) and he didn’t get as much time as he liked with his friends. Yue had bleached her hair during the summer and dyed it a light silvery purple, and Suki was playing with the loose strands tumbling down the back of her chair as Hudwick turned around to write something on the board. 

For the first time that day, Sokka let himself take a breath. 

“If you’re so stressed out, Sokka, you should do something for yourself after this class,” Yue whispered. This time, her tone was sincere. “Go get some hot chocolate?” 

Sokka smiled, grateful. “Yeah, maybe I will.” He and Yue had been friends since their first year at Hogwarts. They were in Ravenclaw together and bonded over the fact they both stood out (Yue with her constantly changing hair color, and Sokka with his American accent). They dated briefly in their third year, but just like many adolescent romances, it didn’t really stick. She had found herself a nice Gryffindor girlfriend in Suki, anyways. Sokka loved and trusted Yue wholeheartedly as one of his closest friends. She had come home with Katara and Sokka one summer, back to Alaska. That’s one of the reasons she knew Sokka’s weak spot for hot chocolate. His dad, Hakoda, would make it for him and Katara (and Yue) every night before bed, even in the summer. It started out as something that he did to help them sleep after their mom died, but continued on as tradition, and Hakoda swore that it was obligatory even though Sokka was old enough to not need it. Whenever Sokka was overwhelmed or having an off day, a cup of cocoa would help him feel better. And around here, the best place to get that was the tea shop in Hogsmeade. 

He went through the rest of Divination feeling a little better.

\---

Sokka breathed in the cool fall air deeply. He reveled in the slight discomfort in the cold air filling up his lungs. He also reveled in the fact that he got to make fun of everybody around him for being bundled up in their winter coats already. He had changed out of his Ravenclaw robes and into a thin, slightly oversized, ugly-patterned wool sweater and tight khaki pants. Fall had come more quickly than usual to Britain, and the locals weren’t used to the cold this early on. Sokka, however, couldn’t wish the chilly winter snow to come fast enough. By this time of September in Alaska, the deciduous leaves would already be putting on their fleeting display of reds and yellows and begun to drop their leaves. Frosts would have started, and the mountains in the distance would be blanketed by a thick layer of snow. 

Sokka knew that he was born in the cold for a reason. He hated the thick, sticky heat that summer brought. His body would respond by uncontrollably sweating any time the temperature got above seventy Fahrenheit. As a kid his dad made sure to take Sokka and Katara snowshoeing and skiing as much as time would allow, and all Sokka wished for every Christmas was to go home and get away from the mediocre British winters. Katara would always make snowmen and snowcreatures for them to play with also. 

Sokka sighed, the wind biting through his sweater a bit more. Katara’s magic had always been stronger than Sokka’s. She knew he was afraid to go into the woods alone after their mom died, so she always tried to make it a friendlier place for him, conjuring up whatever little magic she could without any proper training. Sokka’s magic had been so dim, in fact, that Hakoda didn’t even think Sokka had any, until he got the Hogwarts letter. What little Sokka remembers of his mom was the bright and colorful stories of the enchanted castle she got to learn and live in. It had always been a fantasy for him as a child, something that never actually seemed like something he’d get to experience. 

He had always been secretly envious of how  _ easily _ it all came to Katara. His little sister, who could just tap into it whenever she wanted, who was always on time to classes and sucked up to her professors. Don’t get it wrong, Sokka did plenty of sucking up, got perfect marks, was captain and seeker of the Ravenclaw quidditch team, and became prefect this year. But it always felt like he was working so much  _ harder _ than everybody else. He had to practice his charms ten times more than Katara did, or Yue, or Suki, or even Aang and Toph, who were two years younger. It always felt like his stream of magic was just a small trickle of a spring out of the side of a mountain, enough to survive on but not quite enough to truly live. And somehow, ever since the beginning of the year, it had gotten even harder to call upon the magic in him.

Sokka felt like a failure. His eyes stung, and not just because of the chill. He wanted to yell angrily at whoever made him prefect that he wasn’t good enough. That he couldn’t do it, he couldn’t hold up to all these expectations, and it was getting so hard to handle. 

A group of what looked to be fourth years passed him, giggling, bundled up in mittens and scarves.

“It’s only forty-five. Grow a pair.” Sokka grumbled to himself. Making fun of the kids made him feel a bit better. He had never quite gotten used to using celsius, and still didn’t really understand the conversions.

He turned down the main alley of Hogsmeade, headed west towards the tea shop. He smiled, feeling even better after remembering all the fun times he and his friends have had over the past years at the Jasmine Dragon. And remembering that he had the best cup of cocoa in town to look forward to.

\--

The bells jingled as Sokka pushed the door open. He was greeted with a rush of warm, thick air, tinged with hints of lavender and green tea. For a Friday afternoon, the Jasmine Dragon was pretty quiet. Sokka checked his Katara-charmed watch: 16:43. Guess it was before the after class rush.

He eyed the corner booth in the back, tucked away from the rest of the shop.  _ Damnit. _ It was occupied by a different loner. Sokka sighed and decided to take the less private booth across the aisle from it, which was next to the counter where the staff prepared all the delicious treats. As he got closer, though, the mop of long, black hair turned its head to look in his direction. Sokka realised that he recognized this kid. What was his name again? Kuzon? That didn’t sound right. He played chaser for Gryffindor, but Sokka didn’t interact with chasers much on the field. He had a few classes with him as well, but the kid didn’t really say much.  _ Zuko. _ That was it.

Getting ever closer to the booth, Sokka tried to stealthily get a better look at the boy’s face. This, however, made him not pay as much attention to walking as what became obviously necessary. Sokka dove headfirst into the stairs leading up to the occupied booth, and tripped onto the other boy’s feet. The table wobbled, and Zuko’s tea spilled all over the scroll he had been scribbling on.

“Fuck, oh my god, I’m so sorry-”

“No, it’s fine, it’s not a huge deal, let me just…” Zuko quickly grabbed the tea-soaked scroll and ink to move it out of harm’s way. “Are you alright?” He sounded annoyed.  _ That’s fair. I probably look like a fucking idiot right now. God, Sokka. _ He cursed himself.

“I’m fine,” Sokka said quietly, standing up. He evaluated his sweater and slacks only to see that no tea got on him. He looked up, expecting to see a snapshot of anger staring down at him. Instead, his breath caught in his throat. What he saw was probably the epitome of beauty. “Um, I’m… I’m really sorry about your scroll,” he managed to choke out. The boy’s brown eyes look concerned instead of annoyed. The scar going across one eye that had been covered up by shoulder length wavy black hair before was now glistening in the soft light, painting a fiery beauty across the boy’s face. His cheekbones looked like they could have been carved by Zeus himself.  _ Jesus. Of course I make a fool of myself in front of the hottest guy to probably ever exist. _ Sokka was known to be dramatic, sure, but at this point, he wasn’t kidding when he later told the story that Zuko literally took his breath away.

“No, really, it’s fine. It wasn’t anything important,” he replied. There was a beat of awkward silence as Sokka continued to gawk. “...I’m Zuko, by the way.”

“I know,” Sokka said quickly. “I mean, I remember,”  _ God. _ “We’ve had some classes together, right?”

Zuko laughed a bit, “Yeah, I think so.”

More silence. Sokka then realized Zuko was waiting for an introduction. “I’m Sokka,” he blurted. 

“You’re friends with Suki, right?”

“Oh! Yeah. How do you know her?”

“Um, we’re both in Gryffindor. I see her around a lot.”

“Oh, right,”  _ Get it together. _ Sokka tried to salvage whatever dignity he had left to save this conversation with the hot stranger. “You play chaser, right? For Gryffindor?” Another way he knew Suki.

Zuko smiled, “Yeah, I do.” He seemed to like that Sokka had remembered.

“So, can I make this,” Sokka gestured to the mess on the table, “up to you? Anything you want. It’s on me.”  _ Haha. Cool Sokka is back in business. _ Sokka winced at his own internal dialogue.

Another soft smile appeared on Zuko’s face, “Sure. Right after I clean up.” Only then did Sokka look down and realize that his own clothes were clean, yes, but Zuko was covered and dripping onto the plush cushions. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! Come say hi on tumblr (@happygoluka) As always, kudos and comments are super appreciated. Also, don't @ me for their house choices. I decided on a whim and I know it will be hotly contended. We don't mention ** R*wling here so sorry if I deviate from canon.


	2. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka gets to know Zuko a little bit better.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys like Sokka being oblivious to the world as much as I enjoy writing it. Here is my baby chapter 2. I like this one a lot more than I do the first one, so if you've stuck it out this long, thanks, and hopefully I'll improve with each chapter! By the way, this is supposed to kind of "replace" Harry's plotline in the original HP books. In this universe, Voldemort, Harry, etc. hasn't/didn't happen. It's set sometime in the 2000s. Sokka may or may not make a vine reference in here, but let's just pretend he was the OG. Thanks for humoring me :)
> 
> I think Sokka might be smitten already....

Sokka managed to flag down a server to try and get some towels to clean up the mess he made. A bubbly girl whose name tag read “Ty Lee” was the only one behind the counter, and graciously gave Sokka an abundance of towels. And an abundance of flirty glances. Sokka just smiled and thanked her, hoping he was reading into it and she wouldn’t make too much of a fuss in front of Zuko when he came back.

As he was mopping up the now cold liquid, the owner came towards the booth. Sokka remembered seeing him around the shop before. An older man with a Santa-like appearance; rosy cheeks, white beard, and plump belly, he had a calming, fatherly aura to him. 

“Sorry about this, I don’t think it looks like it’s staining the rugs,” Sokka said sheepishly. 

“I don’t think I would be a very pleasant tea shop owner if I got worked up about a spilled pot of tea,” The man smiled. “Though maybe if I worried about these things a bit more it would stress me out enough to lose a little of this!” He patted his belly, laughing. He had a Japanese accent, Sokka realized. It sounded vaguely familiar, but Sokka couldn’t quite put his finger on it. The man started to gather the discarded pots and cups onto a platter. “I will be back with some more for you and Zuko here. I didn’t know he had such nice friends,” he said with a wink. “Cleaning up the mess by yourself, surely you were raised well.”

“Oh, um, we’re not, I don’t know him that well,” Sokka stammered. He then heard the doors leading to the back of the shop swing open, and Zuko walked out in a fresh t-shirt and slightly drier pants. As soon as he saw Sokka with the man, a bright pink blush crept up his cheeks.

“Uncle, I can clean this up by myself, but thank you,” Zuko said curtly. 

“Zuko, no need to be in such a hurry. I just wanted to make sure that none of the ceramics got damaged. Although as long as they are in the care of your friend here, I’m sure nothing would have gone wrong,” he replied, with another knowing smile towards Sokka. It was Sokka’s turn to blush.

“Thank you,” Sokka said meekly as the man walked away. He turned towards Zuko, realizing why the man’s accent sounded so familiar. Zuko had the same, although much less noticeable. “So, Uncle?” he asked.

Zuko sighed and shifted, looking like he didn’t know what to do with himself. Sokka hurriedly sat down on one of the cushions, making it clear that he wanted to stay, hoping that it wasn’t out of line. Zuko followed suit, the blush slowly fading away from his cheeks. Sokka vaguely wondered why he got so worked up upon seeing his uncle in the booth. 

“Yeah, that’s my uncle Iroh. He runs the shop,” Zuko replied, putting a hand to the back of his neck. His eyes were still averted down, not looking at Sokka.

“Ah. He seems really nice,” Sokka smiled, hoping to make Zuko more comfortable. Zuko let out another breath, seeming to relax more into the cushion. 

“He is. Just a little overbearing, at times.”

“Do you live with him?” Sokka asked, surprised. He winced internally, hoping once again that he wasn’t being too forward, not wanting to make Zuko any more uncomfortable.

Luckily, it seemed like the more Sokka talked, the more Zuko began to relax. “Yeah, actually. I moved in with him here when I was ten, just before I started at Hogwarts.” He finally looked back at Sokka, and added quickly, “My family is originally from Japan,” as if to explain a little bit more, “So coming here was a big move.”

Sokka wanted to ask why he didn’t go to a wizarding school in Japan, but from his own experience, he knew the reason for moving halfway across the world could be a little personal. “Well, if I could come here every day and get unlimited free hot chocolate, I don’t think I would ever be able to convince myself to go to classes. So you’re a strong man,” he said with another smile.

Zuko gasped dramatically. “Hot chocolate? Quiet down, don’t let Uncle hear you,” and laughed. “Who comes to a tea shop and doesn’t get tea? I might have to rethink your offer, if you’re going to make me order a _hot milk_ drink.”

Sokka recoiled, “I’ll have you know I am an _avid_ proponent for hot milk drinks, thank you very much. Maybe I _will_ have to rethink my offer, if you can’t get behind what might possibly be the best, most chocolatey heaven to ever exist. Plus, why would your uncle even serve it if he didn’t deem it worthy?” 

Zuko raised his hands to surrender, “Okay, okay, you make a fair point. If I’m being honest, I don’t think I’ve ever really had hot chocolate? At least not with milk, anyways. It says right there on the packet, ‘just add water.’”

It was Sokka’s turn to gasp dramatically. “WATER? Zuko, you’re sitting here and telling me you put _water_ in your Swissmiss packets. Well,” Sokka feigned getting up to leave, “it was really nice meeting you. Tell Suki I say hi in the common room tonight.” 

He and Zuko laughed together, and Sokka couldn’t help but notice the way Zuko’s eyes closed easily and head tilted back, hair falling behind his shoulders, all discomfort gone. 

\--

Sokka mentally patted himself on the back that night on the way to the Ravenclaw common room. He had walked with Zuko back to Hogwarts, Zuko equipped in Sokka’s wool sweater since Zuko’s had been hopelessly abandoned, after what Sokka would deem a successful… date? Hang out sesh? Oops I thought you were really hot and I made a fool of myself so let me make it up to you and sit in your booth and tell you about my life? He settled on: two bros, chilling in a tea booth, definitely closer than five feet apart, because I’m gay, and I really hope you are too. 

Zuko had been possibly the sweetest person he’d ever talked to at Hogwarts. They talked more about his home in Japan, before he came to Britain. He mostly grew up with his uncle, he had said, and was raised speaking both Japanese and English. Sokka learned that his favorite subject was History of Magic, which absolutely baffled Sokka. But when Zuko described why he liked it, learning about everything that came before their time, all the discoveries and spells that previous wizards had figured out, it suddenly seemed like the most interesting class in the world. 

Sokka, of course, had spilled his guts to the gorgeous boy. He went over his life in Alaska, growing up with Katara and Hakoda. He told Zuko how much he missed the snowy winters, and when Zuko had tried to refuse Sokka’s sweater in fear that he would be cold before they left, he simply laughed and not so subtly flexed that he was used to much, much colder. 

Sokka really, really tried not to dwell on the fact that Zuko definitely had clothes for himself in the apartment above the teashop and had accepted his offering anyways.

He had dropped Zuko off near the tower that led to the Gryffindor dorms, and ended their time together with a promise of making him the best cup of hot chocolate Zuko would ever have the honor of tasting. Sokka had purposefully not let the other boy try any of his at the Jasmine Dragon for this very reason, grasping for any excuse to have the privilege of making Zuko laugh again. He was now sitting in front of the fire on a plush blue sofa, textbook sitting open and unread on his lap, watching the enchanted stars on the ceiling above swirl around into an infinity of cosmos’. 

Sokka heard a soft _thud_ on the sofa next to him, and tilted his head back down to reality to see Yue looking into the fire. Her silvery purple hair glowed frosty and orange-glazed in its light. She glanced over at him. “Welcome back to Earth, loverboy.”

All of Sokka’s tranquility disappeared. “ _Excuse_ me?”

Yue laughed, a light, bell-like noise. “I’m getting reports that one charming, extremely dashing Gryffindor bachelor showed up to the common room mere hours ago in a sweater that looks _very mysteriously_ exactly like one you own. So, I’m guessing your hot chocolate went well.”

Sokka groaned and put his head in his hands, hair loose and falling around his face. “I don’t understand how you know this. I know for a fact you were with Katara, Aang, and Toph the entire time after class. We don’t even have _phones_ in here.” He didn’t bother denying the charming or dashing claims. Sokka knew his place, and Yue would call him out on any crap.

Yue shrugged and just wiggled her eyebrows. “Us girls make do, apparently. You might want to try getting more creative. You are a sixth year wizard-in-training, you know.” Sokka ran through a few possibilities in his mind. Charmed paper airplanes, two-way mirrors… okay, there were a lot of ways they had learned how to get messages quickly to others, especially in such a short distance. He usually didn’t bother, since he learned very soon after arriving at Hogwarts that word of whatever you did would get out anyways. Katara occasionally sent him updated messages through his charmed clock, but he still wasn’t sure how she did it.

“But really,” she continued, “how was it? I didn’t know you knew Zuko.”

“ _You_ know him?” Yue nodded, answering his question. “Why does it seem like everybody _except_ for me does?”

She shrugged again. “He’s been in a lot of our classes, you know. He’s our year, plays with Suki in Gryffindor, he’s really sweet. But I’m sure you know that much by now,” she said with a smile and a nudge. “Me and Suki have tried to get him to hang out with us more, but I think Katara’s death stares have kind of scared him off. She holds the whole thing with his dad against him,” Yue frowned. “If you ask me, you really can’t hold him responsible. Kids can’t control their parents.”

“Wait - what?” Sokka said, his brain trying to process this information. “What happened with his dad?” Does this have something to do with Zuko moving in with Iroh?

Yue just looked at him weirdly. “Seriously, Sokka, I know being prefect and everything has kind of overwhelmed you this year, but really? Have you not been paying attention the _last six years of your life_ to anything going on in this world?”

Sokka struggled to come up with an answer to her judgement. He wasn’t used to not knowing what was going on. He thought back, and realized that Zuko had been in a lot of their classes. He was really smart, maybe that’s what Yue was referring to? Was he also a prefect? Sokka should’ve known. 

Yue took his silence as a cue to continue, “Zuko is Azula’s brother.” Another pause. Sokka still didn’t catch her drift. “Azula, in Slytherin. Azula, _Ozai’s daughter._ ”

_Oh._

“Ozai, you know, the one who thinks purebloods should be the only wizards left in the world, who has actively targeted wizards with muggle parents--”

“I _know_ who _Ozai_ is,” he hissed. Everything began to click into place in Sokka’s brain. Ozai had popped up on the Ministry’s radar something like ten years ago, if Sokka remembered correctly. He had started to gather a following. A following of wizards who believed that anybody without -- Sokka shuddered -- “ _pure”_ blood didn’t… Well, didn’t deserve to be alive. Luckily, his movement wasn’t very widespread. The Ministry had always been hot on his tail, which forced him to relocate often, never getting a chance to really put down roots. They had finally been able to actually charge and imprison him this summer, when an undercover minister had infiltrated the group and revealed his plan and whereabouts. Sokka tried to think about what he knew of Azula. She was in Slytherin, that much was true, but from what he heard, she never seemed particularly evil. Being in Slytherin didn’t mean that you were just another power-hungry wizard. Toph was in Slytherin, and she was secretly the biggest softie you’d ever meet once you got under the prickly exterior. His mind then flitted back to Zuko. It couldn’t have been easy, coming to Hogwarts in the shadow of his father. Let alone growing up with him. Sokka could only hope that Iroh had taken Zuko in early enough that he didn’t have to suffer too much. He wondered if Azula had also lived with Iroh, but seeing as he didn’t even know Zuko and Azula were siblings, Sokka guessed that she probably didn’t. Azula was older, anyways, already in her last year. 

As his brain processed, he remembered what Yue said about Katara. He felt a twinge of anger towards his sister. Sokka knew that Katara missed their mom more than anything in the world, and loved their father just as fiercely. It definitely couldn’t sit well with her that Zuko’s dad would target her and Sokka if push came to shove. Hakoda wasn’t magical, but that never hindered his relationship with his children. Katara defended him against anybody that would even hint at it. Still, Zuko didn’t deserve Katara’s wrath. Like Yue said, children can’t control their parents.

“What has Katara said to him?” He snapped, suddenly feeling very defensive over the boy he just got to know mere hours ago. Sokka prided himself on his good judgement of character, and nothing was telling him to be wary of Zuko. In fact, _everything_ was telling him to be the exact opposite.

“I don’t know, exactly. I just don’t think she’s been shy with him about her opinions on Ozai’s ideologies,” Yue responded.

“I’ll be sure to talk to her about it,” Sokka said quietly, more to himself than to his friend sitting beside him. “In the meantime,” he said, turning his head, “you’re going to have to help me smuggle some milk and chocolate from the kitchens tomorrow night.”


	3. Blue and Silver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Sorry this is a bit late! Hope you enjoy :)

Yue had bailed on him. “I’m sorry I can’t help you fall in love Sokka, but I have to go keep my girlfriend from falling  _ out _ of love with me--”

“We’re not falling in love,” he muttered.

“-- I promised her that we would go to Hogsmeade today and she really wanted it to just be the two of us, she needs a new cauldron...”

Sokka snorted at the cauldron excuse, vaguely relieved that the two wouldn’t be around to meddle in his dating life any more than they very obviously had. Sokka had cornered Suki and forced her to tell him everything that she had told Zuko about him.  _ “I don’t know, Sokka, I literally just said that I thought I recognized the sweater he was wearing and he blushed so hard that I thought he was going to set on fire.” _ Sokka didn’t buy it, but he let it go. He’d make up for any embarrassing anecdotes that the girl had spilled.

So, Sokka found himself alone that Saturday morning at the painting that lead to the kitchens. He reached up and tickled the pear, and the door handle revealed itself. The door was easily pushed open, and the warm, well-lit kitchen expanded out in front of him. House elves were running about, preparing the last of what looked like lunch. Sokka checked his watch, surprised. 11:30. There was no Katara charm for today, he had begged her to take Saturdays off of the agenda. It used to wake him up at 6:30  _ every  _ morning, until he reminded her not so nicely that a very small percentage of the human population voluntarily wants to wake up at that hour. And  _ shit, _ he really needs to learn the charm Katara uses, because he’s supposed to meet Zuko at 12. 

He walked up to a friendly-looking house elf sitting near the fireplace, directing a spoon to stir the pot that housed it. Thank god a student a while back convinced the elves to accept payment. They were in here working all the time.

“Um, excuse me?” Sokka asked, trying to put on the kindest prefect smile he could muster. “Could you point me in the direction of hot chocolate makings, please?”

The elf just looked up at him, flicked his wrist, handed the packets and thermos to Sokka with a bored expression, and went back to stirring.

“Oh. Thanks!” He smiled and waved goodbye. That was a lot easier than expected. Aang had told him to just be nice and the elves will help you with whatever you asked for, but Sokka knew that just because they liked the sweetest Hufflepuff to ever exist didn’t necessarily mean they would extend the courtesy to every student. He guessed he passed their character assessment test.

Sokka let out a breath of air, not realizing he had been holding one in. He glanced down at his outfit one more time, just to make sure it was perfect. Although he guessed he couldn’t really do anything about it now, so there was no use worrying. Yue had picked out a cozy blue wool sweater and paired it with well fitting black jeans. If you looked closely, you could see the slightly lighter pattern in the sweater making it look like water rippling across a pond. It was one of Sokka’s favorites. “Nothing too fancy, you don’t want to look like you’re trying too hard, but the blue in here really brings out your eyes.” He adorned the outfit with silver jewelry, putting on his necklace that was shaped into a crescent moon, cuffed earrings, and his two favorite rings. He left his hair in the usual wolf tail to show off the silver. The outfit was completed with pull on leather boots. 

A plaid blanket was draped across one arm, and he had stuffed the mugs with hot chocolate mix and milk in his bag. It wasn’t the easiest to transport, but damn it, Sokka was going to make it for Zuko. He recited the warming spell Katara had taught him for the milk in his head, and hoped he didn’t mess it up too badly. He suddenly got nervous that a picnic on the lawn overlooking the forest wasn’t the best idea. Exactly how badly  _ could  _ he mess up the spell? What if he poured boiling milk all over his blanket -- and oh god, Zuko,  _ again?  _ Maybe hot liquids and Sokka didn’t mix very well.

He pushed the anxious voice in his head down as he reached the end of the hallway where he agreed to meet Zuko. Sunlight was filtering through the intricate glass windows, casting rainbows across the floor. Sokka checked his watch again nervously. 11:58. Okay, he was the early one. Just as he was about to take a seat in front of one of the windows, he heard footsteps coming from the opposite end of the hall. He glanced up quickly, eager to see the other boy. And woah, Sokka was  _ not  _ disappointed. Zuko’s hair was pulled into a half up, half down style, the bun held in place with a gold piece. A deep red turtleneck complimented his skin tone perfectly. Sokka wondered whether it was a nod to his house placement, or if Zuko knew how amazing the color looked on him. When Zuko spotted the Ravenclaw prefect, a smile spread across his face. There was that awkward moment when somebody is too far away to say hi, and you want to walk towards them, but you’re waiting for them to get to you, but Sokka barely noticed it. The way the refracted sunlight was glinting off of Zuko’s hairpiece, and cheekbones, and  _ eyes…  _ Sokka was surprised he didn’t visibly swoon. Maybe he did. Was it possible to be more awestruck each time you saw somebody?

Zuko’s smile didn’t leave his face as he waved and said his greeting. A soft “hey” fell out of his lips, and he reached in to hug Sokka. Sokka was grateful Zuko had made that decision for him, and tenderly hugged him back. They were about the same height, so Sokka wrapped his arms lightly around Zuko’s waist. He reveled in the warmth that the other boy emitted, even through the thick sweater. He pulled back, not wanting to come off too strong. 

“How’s your morning? All prepped and ready to go for some honest to god ambrosia?” Sokka started the conversation lightly, and led the way.

Any of Sokka’s fears about the picnic were squashed as he opened the door to the lawn and rounded the corner, being greeted by a beautiful view. Sure, it was nothing compared to back home, but the leaves of the Forbidden Forest were starting to change color, painting a wide array of reds, oranges, yellows, and greens across the landscape. It was warm and sunny, and the grass rippled in the soft breeze. 

Zuko laughed; a warm, comforting noise. “Are you promising me that this is literally going to taste as good as a nectar of the gods? What’s next, are you going to dip me in the Styx and send me to battle?” 

Sokka looked back at him, a mischievous grin on his face. “You don’t know where we’re headed. I could be luring you to your doom with the promise of a sweet sweet death. One taste of the cocoa and that’s my cue. No more Zuko.” Silently, Sokka thought of how Zuko was comparing himself to a god. Well, Apollo was a demigod, sure, but still of godly descent. Sokka decided it was a fair comparison, although he wasn’t sure if Apollo could measure up.

Zuko smiled again and shrugged. “At least I’ll have had my life changing sip. Very considerate.” 

Sokka laughed and continued along the grassy hill. They passed the greenhouses, and Sokka silently cursed them due to his last class experience there. Not to mention all the other ones over the years. He loved gardening, don’t get him wrong, but “plants trying to kill you” wasn’t exactly something he’d put on the bucket list. They walked along until Sokka was content, finding a well hidden nook that overlooked the foliage without the opportunity for too many wandering eyes. He spread the blanket out, then gingerly set the backpack down, wincing when he heard the mugs clinking against each other. 

Zuko started to pull his shoes off. “Oh, you really don’t have to, this isn’t a nice blanket or anything,” Sokka said, and then immediately felt like an asshole. Zuko was trying to be polite, obviously, and now he was probably embarrassed. He mentally kicked himself. He wasn’t used to caring about every single word that came out of his mouth, and how the people around him would take it. But he really, really did care around Zuko. “Or, you know what, that’s a good idea,” Sokka added quickly, “Katara might kill me if we get this one too dirty.” 

He slipped his own shoes off and sat down, glancing over at the Gryffindor boy. Was that a slight blush on his cheeks? Did Sokka really screw up that badly, already?

“Oh, um. Right.” Zuko hesitated, “I- I wouldn’t want to make her angry.” It sounded like Zuko wanted to add a “more” into that sentence. Sokka wasn’t sure how to respond.

“You’ve done nothing wrong,” he settled on saying, trying to emphasize the weight in those words without explicitly bringing up the context. He smiled at Zuko, looking him in the eyes. “Now, are you ready to taste heaven?” 

Sokka dumped the cocoa mix in the mugs, and pulled out the thermos with the milk in it. He chanted the spell once in his head for good measure before saying it out loud. He tentatively opened the lid away from himself and Zuko, not wanting anything to explode in his face. He shut his eyes instinctively, waiting for the impact. After a moment, he cracked one open, and then both, after seeing nothing but steam coming from the container. He proudly poured the liquid into each mug, and instructed Zuko to stir generously until it was all mixed together. 

“Wow, you’re letting me be a part of the sacred process? Are you sure? I really wouldn’t want to mess anything up, seems pretty complicated,” Zuko teased.

Sokka scrunched his nose and stuck out his tongue. “It’s as simple as it is delicious. As long as you use hot  _ milk. _ ” 

“Well, I suppose your point is either about to be proven or you’re going to be wholeheartedly embarrassed.” Despite the fighting words, Zuko’s voice sounded like a pot of honey. 

Sokka watched Zuko’s face as he took a sip, eagerly waiting for the reaction. As the warm beverage hit Zuko’s tongue, his eyes closed. 

“Okay. Wow,” he said, after another sip. “Your wisdom is highly revered. I don’t think I could ever drink this made from water again.”

A triumphant grin spread across Sokka’s face, and he let himself take the first sip out of his own mug. His smile faded as he thought back to what Yue had told him, how Katara had actively pushed Zuko away because of his father. 

“So, listen, I’m not really sure what Katara has said to you, but I just want to make it clear that whatever it was, it’s really not cool. I’m sorry.”

Zuko looked surprised and averted Sokka’s gaze, setting the mug down. “It’s fine, I promise. I really can’t blame her all too much. People have a right to hate my father for what he did.” He said the last sentence quietly, as if admitting it out loud was hard for him to do. “ I just really want to make it clear that there’s a reason I don’t live with him anymore. I don’t support what he stands for. At all. And I’m really sorry if you have ever felt uncomfortable here because of him or my family’s presence.”

Sokka just looked at Zuko, a little stunned.  _ He _ was the one who was apologizing for his sister’s behavior, how did it turn into Zuko saying sorry for something he didn’t even do? “Zuko,  _ please _ . It’s  _ not  _ your fault. I don’t want you believing that how Katara,”  _ and I’m assuming other kids, _ “treated you is because of anything you did. I think anybody who has had a genuine conversation with you would come to the same conclusion that I have: that you are not to blame.”  _ And that you are extremely kind, not to mention beautiful, and I’m getting off track... _ “To be honest, I haven’t really kept up in recent affairs as much as I should have,” he continued sheepishly. “I didn’t even realize who your father was until Yue told me.”

Zuko tilted his head back up and finally met Sokka’s gaze. “Are you sure?” He whispered. “I just, it’s so disgusting what my dad is doing, and from Katara’s reaction I kind of just assumed that you wouldn’t want anything to do with me either… Since I’m assuming one of your parents is...” 

Sokka finished the thought for him. “My dad is a muggle, yeah. I think that’s why Katara took it so personally. Which, of course, completely ridiculous.”

“I just can’t believe there are people in this world -- let alone my own father -- who wholeheartedly subscribe to that idea,” Zuko shuddered. “I don’t want you to ever feel lesser. It doesn’t make any sense,” his tone turned a bit forceful. “There is absolutely no basis in my father’s claims.”

It was Sokka’s turn to look down. “I know,” he whispered. “It just doesn’t really help that my magic is so weak I have to repeat a simple warming spell in my head millions of times before I actually get it right.” 

Zuko just stared blankly at Sokka. “You mean, you practice before you cast a spell? If anything, that’s just responsible. Everybody has to work at their magic, Sokka,” he added gently. “That doesn’t make you weak. I don’t think they would make you prefect for nothing.” A smile. That smile melted Sokka’s heart just like the marshmallows did in his hot chocolate. For a second, he forgot the twinge of hurt he felt from thinking about his dwindling powers.

“That’s not what I mean. Especially this year,” he started, hesitating. It was hard to talk about this with anybody. He couldn’t confide in Katara, she’d never understand. He’d told Yue in the dark at sleepovers back home, how he felt like what little grasp he had on magic was slipping with each passing year, but she never knew what to say. But it felt safe with Zuko, of all people. “It just feels like there’s barely anything left in me. Even simple spells like this one, they’re so hard. They take so much energy, and focus. It’s just so  _ easy _ for other kids here, especially sixth years. Shouldn’t something like this come without a second thought by this point?” Sokka could tell the hurt in his voice was evident. He tried to get it under control. “It just makes you wonder sometimes, you know? Maybe one magical parent isn’t enough to go around. Maybe Katara got all of Mom’s magic, and I just got the leftovers. Which is fine, but I just wish it were all or nothing. Not stuck in this weird in between.”

He hadn’t planned on letting Zuko in on this, it just slipped out. Sokka hung his head, embarrassed. He didn’t want to look Zuko in the eye and let him see the tears that threatened to spill onto his cheeks. He blinked them back, straightened his posture, and plastered on a smile. Sokka turned to look at Zuko, not sure what to expect. 

Zuko’s eyebrows, one only a shadow due to the silvery pink scar that covered the left side of his face, were furrowed down towards his eyes. He was looking at Sokka with an intense expression, and it was then Sokka was noticing tears welling in the other boy’s eyes, too. He didn’t do anything to hide it.

“Sokka, I’m so sorry,” he started. His voice was low yet steady. He took a deep breath, and it seemed he was choosing his words carefully. “I’m so sorry that the rhetoric --  _ lies _ \-- my father has told has spread far enough to reach you.” Zuko met Sokka’s gaze and grabbed his arms gently, a hesitant but welcomed movement. “This is  _ not _ because of the fact that your dad is a muggle. Whatever’s going on with your magic, I believe you, and I’ll help you figure it out, all right?”

Sokka could start crying again just based on the sincerity in Zuko’s tone. Well, okay, his eyes  _ did _ well up again, but Zuko had pulled him in for a hug, so they were hidden. 

Sokka relaxed into the other boy’s arms. He felt his heart rate slow as he inhaled deeply. Zuko smelled like a subtle mix of jasmine and pine, and it smelled like the most heavenly thing on the planet in that moment. In fact, Sokka was sure it was. He suddenly became hyper-aware of his own smell, and hoped that his rush back up from the kitchens didn’t become too apparent through his sweater. Sokka was jolted back to reality as he realized how long this hug had been going on. He wasn’t complaining, he swears, he was just conscious of the fact that it had been almost a minute and neither of them had moved. Sokka broke the embrace gently and wiped any remaining liquid from his face.

“Thanks,” he said, “I don’t really tell a lot of people that. And when I do, they don’t really get it.”

Zuko smiled, “Well, I’m glad to hear you feel like you can trust me. And I promise that I’ll help you figure out what’s going on.” His eyebrows furrowed, “Although I’m not really sure where to start with that part. Maybe we could go to Professor Atkins…” He named Sokka’s Herbology professor. She had always been friendly and invested in her students, sure, but Sokka didn’t really think she would know much about his magical powers waning. 

The boys sat and thought for another minute, until Zuko broke the silence again, “I think Headmaster Bell would know a thing or two. She was a History of Magic professor and taught…” he hesitated, “my father… He was obsessed with learning about where magic came from and how to best harness his power. She became Headmaster soon after he left, I think. He used to talk about her sometimes.” He paused again. Sokka could hear the shame in his voice, and he sympathized with how hard it must be for Zuko to openly admit to being related to Ozai. He was sure Zuko had tried to hide it at Hogwarts. Out of the blue, Sokka wondered who Zuko had made friends with during his time at school. He panicked a bit, hoping that Katara icing him out of their friend group didn’t stop Zuko from trying with others. Sokka shook his head at himself. Who  _ wouldn’t  _ want to be friends with Zuko? He reassured himself that they just ran in different circles. He at least had Suki, and he was sure the other players on Gryffindor had to be nice enough. Sokka’s mind then drifted, wondering if Zuko had ever dated anybody that went to Hogwarts. His heart sped up again with the thought, and suddenly realized that it was his turn to speak in the conversation, jolting himself back to the present. Whether or not Zuko had dated anybody while Sokka had been oblivious to his existence was very much his own business.

Sokka looked over at the kind boy that sat next to him and put on the most dazzling smile he could muster. How could he be so nice after only knowing Sokka for what, a few days at this point? He decided to say exactly that. “Why are you being so nice to me?” He started with a teasing tone, “Am I just that dashingly handsome with the most perfect, charming smile you’ve ever seen that you just can’t help yourself from wanting to help me with one of the biggest things going wrong in my life?” 

  
Zuko blushed. Hard. He recovered quickly though, shrugged, and smiled back at Sokka, “I guess so. What can I say, I’m a sucker for a seeker.” And then he winked.  _ Winked.  _ At Sokka. It was Sokka’s turn to blush. He could feel it creeping up the back of his neck. Okay, if this kid wasn’t gay, he was just a big flirt, and Sokka didn’t know if he could handle that, mentally. All he could do was hope his first impression was right, because he was already in too deep for anything else to be true.


	4. Henry

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is funnier if you watch Letterkenny. Or are Canadian. <3

“Hey Twinkle Toes! Pass me the potatoes, won’t ya?” Sokka heard Toph’s rough voice before he saw her. He quickly closed the distance between himself and the dinner set out on the Gryffindor table. His mouth watered. He had come straight from practice, and of course the Ravenclaw schedule had to cut at least 15 minutes into the beloved Harvest Festival feast. As captain, Sokka tried to get done as quickly as possible, but since they had a match coming up against Gryffindor on Sunday, the team couldn’t afford to lose too much time. A spread of turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, green beans, cranberry sauce, and any fall delicacy one could think of was placed carefully on the long dining tables. Floating candles cast a soft glow across the room.

Sokka plopped down heavily next to the left of Toph and started digging in, piling his plate as high as he could without anything falling off. 

“Hello to you too, Snoozles. Too busy taking a nap to make it to dinner on time?”

Sokka looked up from his plate, glaring at Toph for her snide remark, but gave up when he 1) realized she wouldn’t be able to see him stick his tongue out, and 2) saw who was at the table next to her. Zuko sat stiffly, back straight, playing quietly with some leftover squash on his plate. Suki was next to him, animatedly talking to Yue and Aang about an upcoming project for her Potions class, flinging her fork across the air like it was her wand. Sokka cursed Toph silently in his head, wishing she had left the seat next to Zuko open. He looked uncomfortable, and Sokka knew that Suki and Yue had probably dragged him along against his will. Katara was the furthest away from Zuko as she could be: next to Aang and across from Sokka at the end of the table. She seemed unbothered enough, but definitely wasn’t engaging in the conversation, her nose in a DADA textbook even though it was a Friday night. 

Toph’s remark made Suki look over. “Sokka! You made it!” She said excitedly. Her eyes then narrowed, “Preparing your team for a rough defeat on Sunday, eh? Does it  _ ever _ get easier, knowing you’re going to lose? Or have you convinced yourselves that you actually have a shot this time?”

Okay.  _ This _ made Sokka take a break from the plate in front of him. “You know Suki, I think I’ve found the chink in your teams armor. Can’t get  _ too _ cocky now, can we? I know you haven’t practiced enough this week to be prepared to take us on,” he said, mouth still half full of mashed potatoes. To be fair, Gryffindor had beat them pretty badly at last month’s match. Suki had gotten the snitch early. But Sokka had found her trick. She had spent the whole game mostly out of sight, and swooped in seemingly out of nowhere. In reality, she had her players eyes on the snitch the whole time. They had created a method of alerting her whenever one of them saw it whiz by. Sokka had been sure it was against the rules, but he couldn’t find anything concrete when he whipped out the manual after the match. He settled for watching their matches carefully, and learning the clues. He had a whole chart in his notebook and everything. Sokka laughed to himself, smug. They had no idea that he knew their little game.

Zuko snorted at his response, shaking his head. 

“What? Think you’re  _ that _ good?” Sokka retorted playfully. He had to crane his neck over the top of Toph’s head to see Zuko’s face, but boy, was the view worth it. Zuko had his hair down, with part of it tucked behind his ear, the rest flowing freely over his shoulders. The waves glinted golden in the enchanted candle light. He was looking back at Sokka, lips pulled up in a playful smile, slightly more relaxed than when Sokka first saw him. 

Sokka found himself very willing to do anything that was necessary to see that boy happy. So, he continued on.

“I mean, I do tell my keeper to watch out for Mr. 77 here,” Sokka said playfully, winking at Zuko. Turning to Suki, he added, “But the seeker on Gryffindor,” shaking his head, “ _ she _ doesn’t stand a chance.”

That was enough to launch Suki into another rant about how Gryffindor had been training  _ so hard _ , and she had come up with a new practice routine, and… well, Sokka had stopped listening, and delved into his own thoughts. Practice was rough since he had to grill his team a bit more than usual, and he wasn’t expecting Zuko to be sitting at the table with the rest of his friends. Not that he was complaining, of course, but it was definitely a surprise. Katara still hadn’t lifted her nose out of her book, but Sokka saw she was sneakily looking at Zuko from under the pages. Sokka’s anger over what Yue told him started to build again.

  
Sokka narrowed his eyes. “Katara, would you care to come say hi to my friends at the Ravenclaw table with me? I think Noah Brown is waving to you.” He named a random fifth year on the Quidditch team. 

She looked up, eyes wide, “Who’s that? I don’t even know him.”

He got up, and pulled her along with him. “Look! He’s waving right now,” his hand tight around Katara’s arm. Sokka dragged her just outside of the doors, hidden from their friends’ view. 

“What the  _ fuck, _ Sokka? What is this about?” Katara said, eyes still wide, but with anger now. 

“Listen, you can’t keep being mean to Zuko. I know that you hate Ozai, and  _ trust me, _ before you try and claim that I don’t, I  _ do. _ You can’t take your hatred out for Ozai on his son, Katara. Do you even know Zuko? Have you even had a conversation with him? Because I sure as hell hadn’t before a few weeks ago. He’s a nice kid, okay, and I know you still really hurt from what happened to Mom--”

Her eyes narrowed. “You have no  _ idea _ what I feel about Mom,” her voice was steely and eerily calm. “And I have every single right to not like Zuko. Just because he hasn’t followed in his father’s footsteps  _ yet _ doesn’t mean he won’t. I do not have to be friends with somebody who was raised with the belief that I am lesser just because of who my parents are.”

“That’s the thing, Katara, you don’t know anything  _ about _ him. He wasn’t raised by Ozai. By blood, yes, Ozai is Zuko’s father. But he was raised by his uncle, and his mom. His mom died, just like ours did, Katara. We’re more similar than you think.”  _ And he’s helping me with something that you don’t understand.  _ Zuko took Sokka’s concerns over his magic without an ounce of judgement, and believed him immediately. No blood hungry bigot would be that willing, or kind.

Katara was silent. Her chin still jutted out, and her eyebrows were furrowed, but she looked like she was contemplating the new information instead of keeping her own judgements. “ _ Fine,”  _ she hissed, finally. Sokka let out a breath. “But if he says even  _ one thing _ out of line,” she took a step closer, and put her pointer finger up, “then you can wave my chivalry goodbye.” With that, she spun around, her long hair whipping behind her. Sokka watched her stalk back to the Gryffindor table and pick up where she left off in her book.

He followed her, much more slowly, reading the situation he was re-joining. Zuko looked over at him as he sat back down next to Toph, a curious expression on his face, but still smiled. Sokka smiled back. 

“Well, Toph and I were going to go enchant snowmen! Katara, do you want to come too?” Aang asked, excitedly. Sokka looked up at the enchanted ceiling, surprised. It hadn’t been snowing at practice, but the sky did look awfully heavy. Enchanted snowflakes were falling towards the candles suspended in the air, disappearing before it reached the students below. Sokka smiled. Winter seemed to be coming early to Britain this year.

Katara shut her book and said, “Sure, Aang.” The trio began packing up their belongings and soon left the table emptier than it was before.

“I’m surprised you’re not out there with them. Figured you would want to make fun of Aang and Toph for being wimps and wearing one too many layers,” Zuko spoke, with a twinge of teasing in his voice.

“I guarantee you I would be if it weren’t for these two taking over my evening plans,” he responded, jutting his chin out towards the two girlfriends sitting across from each other. 

Suki turned towards the boys, “Don’t be rude, Sokka. Zuko, you of course are cordially invited to our slumber party in Ravenclaw tonight.” 

“Slumber party?” He asked, amused.

Yue rolled her eyes, but a smile was still on her face. “Sokka and I started the tradition in our second year, when we were homesick. We put on our comfiest pjs and Sokka, of course, made us hot chocolate, and I told the stories my gran gran would. Now that we’re not twelve and homesick, it’s just whatever we want to do. I’m sure Sokka will still make you hot chocolate if you ask nicely, though,” she added with a wink.

“Well, I’m in, but only if Sokka can also provide some cozy pajamas, too.”

Sokka felt his heart skip a beat.

\-- 

“Welcome home,” Sokka said as the door to the Ravenclaw common room swung open. His housemates were spread out across the large parlor. The dark wooden bookcases were complimented by the deep blue tones of the room, and the firelight bounced off of the glossy wood and added some warmth to the cool tones of the room. Sokka loved blue, but he always wished there was some more life added back into the color scheme. He made sure the fireplace was always going while he was in here. 

Suki walked over to the comfiest couch set near the fireplace and plopped down. 

“Babe, we gotta go get changed. It’s not tradition without it!” Yue dragged her off the couch by the arm towards the hall that led to her room. Hogwarts had dropped the whole gendered dorms thing a while ago after students protested. The new headmaster, Bell, had listened immediately. The outdated charms that had been wearing off anyways had been dropped, and students were allowed to choose their roommates regardless of gender. Instead, the first years were matched up based on a new sorting hat like system that paired potential friends together. 

“I’m assuming she’s in here a lot,” Zuko said amusedly. Suki definitely felt at home in Ravenclaw. Nobody gave a second glance watching her walk in (with or without Yue. Sokka still wasn’t sure how she got past the enchanted door, but that was a conversation for another time.) A few of their fellow sixth years had recognized Zuko and turned their heads once or twice, but all of the older students were used to sneaking friends into different common rooms. 

“Yeah, she is,” Sokka responded softly.  _ Maybe you will be too. _ “Well, I’ll lead the way and we’ll get you suited up ASAP, partner,” he said, mimicking an American soldier. Fuck, would Zuko even get the joke? He started to panic a little, and quickly turned towards the hallway that led paralel to Yue’s. He let out a sigh of relief when Zuko responded with a laugh and a quiet “yes, captain.”

They reached the dark wooden door decorated with posters and stickers. Sokka took a deep breath and prayed that his roommate, Henry, wasn’t in. Henry was great, not to mention Ravenclaw’s star chaser, but Sokka didn’t really feel like explaining why he had brought some Gryffindor kid in here just to change into pajamas. Luckily, the room was vacant. Sokka surveyed his side of the room and hoped nothing too embarrassing was in their line of view. Sixth years got much more freedom of choice in their sleeping arrangements, and Sokka was thankful they got a normal, square shaped room instead of the circle ones many other kids got who lived in the towers. Sokka’s bed was to the left, one side pushed up against the wall, underneath a few windows so he could see the view of the Ravenclaw towers and a bit of the forbidden forest from his bed. He had dismantled the normal four poster style and instead lofted his bed and hung the curtains from the ceiling, making his own corner of the room. Band and art posters covered the wall above his bed, creating what Sokka deemed an “eclectic yet laid back chill” vibe. The wall straight back from the door housed their wardrobes and couch with some throw pillows and rugs on the floor to make it cozier. Thankfully he had thrown everything in the wardrobe this morning and nothing too horrendous was sitting out. Two big windows were set opposite of each other with each of the boys’ desks underneath them. Henry’s side was to the right, and a bit less done-up than Sokka’s. He had kept the original style of the bed, and the only thing adorning the wall was a tapestry with one corner falling down. Some clothes and his broom were strewn about, but nothing too bad.

“Wow. This is a nice setup you have here. I didn’t know Ravenclaw kids had it this nice, I think I might have to transfer,” Zuko said, closing the door behind them. “I hate being in a tower. Feels like I’m going crazy not having a corner to push anything into.”

“Yeah, I lucked out this year. We’re going to try as hard as we can to keep the same room next year,” he replied, crossing the room to his wardrobe. He pulled open one of the drawers, contemplating which pair to give Zuko. There were his new favorites, made of a soft plaid flannel material that his dad sent him a few years ago. Then his eyes landed on a new purchase that he got a few months ago.  _ Haha. Perfect. _

He pulled the piece out of the drawer and smiled at Zuko, “Here ya go!” Sokka was way, way too excited to see how this played out.

Zuko took a bit longer to figure out what exactly was just handed to him. As he unfolded the set, his eyes widened. 

“Um, is this my only option?”

“Hey, do I have to remind you that you’re the one who said you wanted some of  _ my _ pajamas. Take it or leave, because our slumber party tradition won’t be broken.” 

“Okay, but only if I get to pick out what  _ you _ wear.” 

Sokka laughed, “You think this is a bargaining game? Zuko, sweetie,” Sokka took a step closer to the other boy, still amused by the shock on his face, “my room, my rules.” He reached out and tuck a strand of the other boy’s long hair behind his ear. “Get changed, I promise no peeksies.”

Sokka turned back to the drawer and quickly got changed into his favorite set. He waited, listening carefully for a cue that Zuko had finished. A soft cough echoed through the room and Sokka turned around, excited to see his creation. Zuko stared at the floor, and Sokka could see a blush creep up his pale cheeks. 

“Happy?” 

The onesie Sokka had given him was bright blue, fuzzy, and covered in rainbows and snowflakes. It fit Zuko a little snugly, and for the first time, Sokka noticed that Zuko was a few inches taller. But hey, Sokka was not going to complain. Zuko had left the zipper undone a bit for breathing room, and Sokka had to mentally note not to stare at the collarbones that showed underneath. Sokka picked this one specifically because he had never seen Zuko in anything like it. He always dressed neutrally, but still stylishly, never anything too brightly patterned or standoffish. Almost the exact opposite from Sokka’s style. Sokka tried not to be as cheesy as he once was, but allowed himself a few pieces like this in his wardrobe.

“Perfect,” Sokka replied, with a smile and a wink. He closed the wardrobe and they headed back to the common room. Suki and Yue were already back on the plush sofa, snuggled together. Suki was dressed in Yue’s Ravenclaw PJs, and Yue in Gryffindor.  _ Ew _ , but cute. They turned as Sokka plopped down next to them, on the far end of the sofa. Zuko trailed a bit further behind, and when Suki and Yue saw, all hell broke loose.

Yue just gawked. The biggest grin Sokka had ever seen broke across Suki’s face. “Jesus fuckin’ Christ there bud, looks like a unicorn just puked all over you. Don’t think I’ve ever seen ya wear anything outside of the ‘I’m gay and depressed’ color range, and I see why,” she chirped. The Canadian hockey player she grew up as really jumped out.

“Your mom sure liked me wearin’ it last night.”  _ Jesus, _ Sokka thought. Guess Zuko had picked up on some of Suki’s banter all right. That boy sure knew how to keep Sokka intrigued. 

Yue rolled her eyes and turned to Sokka, “I think I have to be the only goddamn Brit that goes to this school.” She turned back to Suki as Zuko sat carefully on the couch, a few inches away from Sokka. “This isn’t the locker room captain. Cut it out.” Suki just batted Yue’s wagging finger away playfully. 

“I know you love it when I talk all Canadian to ya,” Suki said, and stole a peck from the other girl’s lips.

“Well,  _ I _ think Zuko looks great,” Sokka interrupted. “Whoever chose his outfit definitely knows how to choose a pattern.” 

“Damn straight. Even if none of us are,” Yue said, snuggling closer to Suki. Zuko laughed.  _ Zuko laughed.  _

The common room was mostly empty at this point, with a few students still huddled on couches here and there. “So what was life like back home for you in Japan, Mr. Rainbow man?” Suki poked at Zuko with one of her toes. “Anything we can do to make you feel more comfortable?”

“Hmmmmmm, probably give me extremely confusing, yet relevant advice about my life? Preferably in an old man voice?” 

“Zuko, you have to learn how to ride the wave, instead of letting it drown you,” Suki imitated. “How was that?”

He threw his head back and laughed, “Perfect, although I don’t know what the fuck kind of wave I’m riding. It’s my sister that surfs, not me.” That was the first mention of Azula that Sokka had ever heard him make.

“Did you ever go when you were younger?” Sokka asked, eager to learn more.

“Yeah, sometimes. I wasn’t good though. Azula’s naturally gifted at it. I’m sure she really misses it. She always wanted to move to Hawaii or somewhere warm, so she could surf all year.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re not a boarder, cause that means I can teach you how to ski!”

“Skiing? In Britain? Good luck with that one, Sok,” Yue chimed.

Zuko groaned, “Please, Yue, don’t get him starte--”

“You know, I’m glad you brought it up, because I just think it’s funny that anybody here would dare call it ‘winter.’ A pile of slush and the temperature getting down to 34 for a day does  _ not _ qualify as ‘winter,’ let alone the fucking Canada Goose parkas that people just looove to wear. Fur is fashionable when they wear it, but when I wear a fur coat that my dad made for me out of caribou we hunted, it’s ‘inhumane.’ Right. Yeah, That makes sense. No, no, I love this country!”

“I consistently say that Hogwarts is the only good thing that exists here,” Zuko agreed. 

“Well, look at the two of you, getting along just dandy,” Suki groaned. “Yous can go have a chat about it somewhere out of earshot. I’ve heard it a million times already. A girl just wants to have a night in a mediocre-wintered country in peace sometimes.” 

The group bantered for hours. As the night wore on, Sokka swore that he felt Zuko inch closer and closer. By the time the clock struck midnight, Sokka couldn’t breathe without their legs brushing together. Yue was asleep in Suki’s arms at this point, and so the bigger spoon made the unanimous decision to lift her girlfriend up and take her to bed. 

“Night, guys,” Suki whispered on her way out. “See you in the morning.”

Zuko just waved, eyelids heavy. Sokka stifled a yawn, and leaned over to push at the burning embers in the fireplace to try and get some more life out of them. Zuko pulled his legs closer to his body and tucked his chin on his knees, shivering without the heat of the fire. 

“I should probably get back to my bed,” Zuko whispered, eyes closed.

Sokka put down the poker, hesitating. “You can stay here if you’d like. I sleep on the couch in my room plenty anyways. Wouldn’t want you to freeze to death on the way back to Gryffindor,” he laughed quietly. 

“I guess my clothes are still in your room anyways,” Zuko blinked his eyes open. 

They headed back to Sokka’s room. Sokka swung the door open quietly, trying not to wake a sleeping Henry. But the desk lamp from earlier was still on, and the room was empty.  _ Huh.  _ He wasn’t going to question it.

“Oh,” was all that Zuko said. 

“I would offer you PJs, but it seems like you’re already well suited,” Sokka said. He reached over and toyed with the zipper on the onesie a bit. “Just don’t rip it, please.”

Zuko just stared back at Sokka. He wasn’t looking at Sokka’s eyes, but slightly below.  _ Oh,  _ Sokka thought. His heart began to beat a little louder in his chest. He moved his hand from where it was resting on the zipper and snaked it up beneath Zuko’s hair, to the back of his neck. Sokka took one last inhale, prayed his breath didn’t taste too bad, and closed his eyes.

A loud  _ bang _ announced Henry’s arrival. He fell through the doorway, knocking over a stack of textbooks on his side of the room. 

The two boys had automatically jumped apart. Sokka quickly glanced at Zuko, and noticed he had replaced Sokka’s hand with his own on the back of his neck. Sokka smiled to himself at that.

“Hey there Henry, you good?” Sokka asked. Henry did not look good. He still had his uniform on, tie loose, and blonde hair tousled. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were half closed. 

“I’m grrrrreat!” Henry said with a thumbs up. Then leaned over and puked into his trash can.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Henry. Hoping to get Chapter 5 up asap, and have an idea of how many chapters the whole thing will be! Sorry for the long wait on this one! Thank you for reading! Come say hi on tumblr @happygoluka, and as always comments and kudos appreciated <3


	5. Aconite

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys!  
> So sorry I have not updated this in two months... life happens sometimes ya know :) I am super excited to be back with this new chapter! We learn a lil more about what's going on with Sokka's magic in this one... stay tuned.  
> *disclaimer* I know that technically it should be Headmistress* Bell but honestly I just like the sound of Headmaster better. F gender norms and jkr.

_Ow,_ Sokka thought. Something hard was pressing into his neck. He swatted at the subject tiredly, still half asleep. “ _Ow,”_ he groaned out loud this time. The hard thing did not give in, and instead bruised his hand. He unwillingly peeled his eyes open, disoriented. He wasn’t in his bed, but that was his dorm ceiling above him. He eyed Henry’s wardrobe sitting at the end of the couch, and remembered. The hard thing he had just driven his hand into was the arm of the sofa. _Damn, we really need some more pillows on this thing._ He dragged one off of the floor and stuffed his under his head, with every intention to go back to sleep. The light streaming through the window was bright, but it couldn’t be past 8 or 9 yet. 

Then Sokka remembered why he was sleeping on his couch, instead of in his bed. His bed was occupied. Occupied by _Zuko._

Sokka’s eyes snapped open, and he sat up abruptly. He could make out Zuko’s lumpy form underneath his comforter, pulled tight up around the boy’s neck. There was still a hint of morning frost on the windows, turned liquid from the sun. Sokka then drew his attention to the other side of the room. Henry was snoring quietly, still propped up on his side in the exact same position Sokka left him in last night. However inconvenient Henry’s timing was, Sokka really couldn’t complain. He too had come back to the room after one too many shots of fire whisky a few more times than he would care to admit, and Henry had graciously made sure he didn’t choke to death in his sleep. Sokka could only return the favor. After that incident, though, Sokka couldn’t come up with a good enough excuse to squeeze into the twin bed alongside Zuko. He sighed, turning back to the boy with long black hair. The early morning sun glinted off of something coming out of Zuko’s mouth. Wait, was that _drool?_ Sokka smirked to himself. Zuko was never going to hear the end of this one. 

A groan echoed across the room. 

“Good morning, Prince Charming,” Sokka chirped. Poor boy, to have the same name as royalty. Made it easy on Sokka. Henry rubbed his eyes, propping himself up on one arm. 

“Why’s it so bright’n here,” Henry slurred. He winced at the sunlight streaming through the thin curtains, and turned to where Sokka was now upright on the couch, “and why aren’t you in your bed?” 

“Um -- me? Oh, why am I on the couch? Not my bed?” Sokka liked to think of himself as cool and composed. Maybe he’d have to re-evaluate. 

“That’d be because Sokka’s a gentleman, and he would never let his guest have sub-par accommodations,” Zuko’s soothing voice entered the conversation. 

Sokka turned his head to Zuko’s -- _his --_ bed. Mirroring Henry, Zuko leaned his weight on his right arm. Sokka tried not to stare at the boy’s tensed arm. He must have unzipped the onesie in the middle of the night. Sokka definitely stopped his gaze before it lingered too long on the collarbone jutting out above Zuko’s shoulder, and the way his bare neck curved, hair behind his shoulders. Definitely. 

He barely had time to process the fact that this was going to be an extremely awkward interaction. Sokka hadn’t encountered this situation before. He hadn’t planned on having his… _friend_ spend the night, only for his drunk-as-balls roommate to come home and need coddling.

“Right,” he started, regaining some composure, “Henry, Zuko. I would say this is the first time you guys have met, but… I think you had a pretty in depth conversation about the highs and lows of fire whisky mixed with apple cider last night. Once, of course, you were able to talk,” he threw another lighthearted jab in there for good measure.

“God,” Henry groaned again, this time putting his face in his hands. “Hope it wasn’t too bad. I sincerely apologize for interrupting, uh, your…” Sokka winced as Henry stumbled over his words. “Anyways, thanks, Sokka. And nice to meet you… again, Zuko. If you guys don’t mind, I think I’m going to sleep another 5 hours,” and with that, slammed his head back down on the pillow and pulled the comforter over his eyes. 

Willing the embarrassment to go away, Sokka mustered a smile and turned to Zuko, who had seemingly wiped any evidence of the drool away from his mouth. His eyes and lips were puffed up from the night, and somehow it made him even more beautiful. If Henry weren’t snoring in the corner, Sokka swears he’d finish what they started last night, drool and all.

“Breakfast?” Zuko said with a smile.

\-- 

The two boys had gotten ready in silence, trying not to interrupt Henry’s sleep more. The silence continued as they made their way down to the dining hall. It wasn’t awkward, Sokka noted. He felt very comfortable just being in Zuko’s presence. It felt like a warm hug, knowing that Zuko understood what Sokka was feeling on a deeper level. Zuko had been the only person to take Sokka’s concerns seriously. Sokka had been trying to forget about their upcoming meeting today. Although he did want answers about why it felt like his magic was waning, it was also intimidating to admit that something could actually be wrong.

“Headmaster Bell said to come to her office around 10, I think,” Zuko broke the silence. He gazed down at Sokka, eyes soft. _Damnit._ Sokka kept forgetting Zuko was taller. He straightened his spine and pulled his shoulders back a little bit. He pulled the sleeve of his sweatshirt back to check his watch. 8:43. Sokka mentally kicked himself for setting himself up to get up this early on a Saturday. As if Zuko could read his mind, he laughed. “Not used to rising with the sun, I take it?”

“Is it that obvious?”

“I mean, other than the fact that you were almost late every single day to our 4th year charms class, and that you complain about getting up early for practice all the time, and that you have yet to speak a coherent sentence this morning… Yeah, I think it speaks for itself.”

Sokka smiled, mostly to himself, “I forgot you were in that class.”

“Yeah, I was actually Yue’s partner.”

The comfortable silence fell back over the two as they neared the entry to the hall. They were close together, shoulders almost touching. Sokka told himself he didn’t brush his hand against Zuko’s on purpose. 

\--

After they finished breakfast (with only a few snide remarks from Suki and a couple of obscene motions from Yue when Zuko wasn’t looking), they headed straight to the Headmaster’s office. They reached the bottom of the long, winding spiral staircase that lead up the tower. Zuko looked at Sokka mischievously.

“Last one up has to show up to practice in the wrong uniform!” 

By the time Sokka even processed what had happened, Zuko was already 20 feet up the stairs.

“Hey!”

_What the fuck does that even mean? Wrong uniform? As in…_

Sokka shook his head and bolted after the Gryffindor boy. He would like to say he had a fighting chance. He swore Zuko must have charmed the staircase beforehand to look shorter than it actually was. By the time Sokka reached the top, he was sure his deodorant from the morning was already worn off and he was trying not to dry heave from the lack of oxygen in his lungs. Zuko was waiting for him, nonchalant as ever.

“I thought seekers were supposed to be in shape,” Zuko teased. He wasn’t even out of breath. _Not fair._

Sokka took in enough air to try and mutter out a rebuttal, but was cut off by the tall oak doors creaking open.

“What can I help you with today, boys?” Headmaster Bell’s voice rang out from somewhere within the room in front of them. With arched ceilings and tall windows to match, the room felt like it was floating above the foggy school grounds. The Headmaster had redecorated the room with what had to be thousands of different magical plants. You would think she was a Herbology expert instead of History of Magic from her decorations. A large tree sprouted up from the center of the room, and Sokka then realised the trunk had run all the way up the spiral staircase. Fairies floated about, seemingly attending to all of the plants. It felt like Sokka was stepping into a jungle above the clouds. 

The prefect and his fellow sixth year followed the sound of Headmaster Bell’s voice. They rounded a corner and found her sitting at a regal wooden desk, scratching on scrolls with her quill. Headmaster Bell was a tall woman, surprisingly stronger and more intimidating than one would assume from her name. Gray hair up in a messy bun and dressed in an oversized knit sweater and khakis, Sokka felt his nerves dwindle slightly. He had never spoken personally with the Headmaster, but by the way Zuko had talked about her, he assumed the other boy had. He followed Zuko’s lead and took a seat in the two chairs opposite her desk. 

“Pray tell, or else you’re wasting my precious Saturday morning for nothing,” she prompted.. Sokka’s eyes widened, ready to apologize, but stopped when he saw her break into a smile. For the first time she looked up from her scroll and rested her gaze on the prefect. “Oh, I’m just kidding. I would have never taken a meeting with you two if I didn’t think it worth my while.” Somehow, that felt more intimidating. Like she had been expecting the boys to want to meet with her. Sokka shook the feeling off and tried to build up the courage to tell her what was wrong. 

Zuko laughed. “Thank you, Headmaster, we really appreciate you taking the time,” he started. “We’re here because, well, Sokka here…”

“I’m, uh, having some trouble with my magic, Headmaster,” Sokka finished the thought for Zuko. He couldn’t bring himself to pick his eyes up off of his shoes. He heard her set the quill down gently, and from the noise of rings clacking together he guessed she had clasped her free hands together. 

“Sokka, you’re one of our most promising students here at Hogwarts. Just because we’ve not come in close contact before doesn’t mean I don’t know how well you perform in all of your classes. Not to mention how you’ve led Ravenclaw to many victories as captain this year.” Her tone was completely neutral, like she was stating facts instead of any opinions. 

He glanced over to Zuko, who looked at him and smiled softly. His eyes said that it was Sokka’s story to tell. “Um, thank you, Headmaster, I’m flattered you’ve kept up on me. It’s just, I’ve always felt like my magic has been a little… slower than others, if that makes sense. It hasn’t been a huge issue, but this year, I can barely perform smaller spells. It feels like all of the energy is drained out of me if I even try to cast a lumos.” 

“We came to you,” Zuko added on, “because I know you taught History of Magic to, um, my father. I know he really enjoyed your class,” it sounded like Zuko was choosing his words very carefully, as to make it clear these facts were not necessarily something he was proud of. “I figured that since you have studied the origins of where our magic comes from so extensively, you might be able to help us figure out a little more about what is happening to Sokka’s.”

Sokka tentatively drew his gaze from the floor to look at the former professor sitting in front of them. Her eyebrows were furrowed, and her hands were now spinning different silver and golden rings on each of her fingers. “Yes. I did teach Ozai,” she started. “I also taught your mother, Sokka. They were in the same year, much like you two, did you know that?” 

Sokka didn’t think that either him or Zuko knew how to respond to that statement, so Bell continued for them gently. 

“Kya was an extremely gifted student, Sokka. You take after her in many ways. Ozai as well. Brightest students in my class, top of their respective houses. They fought for the highest seat in their year constantly. It was always quite a friendly battle, though. They’d go off on long tangents in History of Magic, bouncing off of each other. It drove me crazy sometimes,” she said with a laugh. “But honestly, it was extremely heartwarming to see students so interested in the material.”

Her eyes darkened, “Kya moved on after my class, though. Ozai, he hung around a lot in the later years. He used to come to me with many, many questions, some I could not answer. You are correct, Zuko, in the fact that he was extremely interested in where we get our magic from. He wanted to know if our… _lineage_ had anything to do with it. I tried to steer him away from many of those nasty thoughts. I was much younger then, and did not see his interest in these things as much of a threat, since he was only a child.” Sokka could sense the regret in her voice.

_“I’ve been proved wrong_ ,” hung unsaid in the air. 

Sokka’s mind was running a mile a minute. Kya and Ozai were… _friends?_ His mind recoiled at the thought. Had Ozai really just been a normal teenager, like anybody else at Hogwarts? Like himself, Katara, Suki, Yue… like Zuko? _No._ Sokka clenched his jaw and shoved the thought to the back of his mind. Zuko was _good._ He may be just as bright as his father, but the similarities ended there, Sokka reminded himself. He was sure of it.

Zuko looked just as confused, but both of them could sense that there wasn’t much more information Bell could give them about their parents’ friendship. “Headmaster,” Zuko started, “did you ever come across anything in your studies about a wizard’s powers disappearing?” 

Bell unclasped her hands and pushed her chair back, getting up from her seat. She walked over to the window behind her desk, toying with a flower on one of the blooming plants. She picked it off and brought it back over to the desk. It had small purple flowers huddled together to form a cone shape. Sokka recognized it from one of his herbology courses, but couldn’t quite remember its name. 

“Aconite,” Bell spoke. “Its flowers are used in healing potions. You might know it by its more common name, Wolfsbane. Beautiful, isn’t it?” She held the plant very carefully by one of the flowers and let the stem dangle. “Useful in helping werewolves. Muggles used to use it as a pain reliever.” She dropped the flower on the desk. “But beware, because all parts of the plant except the flower is poisonous. It is not usually deadly, but is a poison that takes a slow effect of one's body. It infiltrates your system bit by bit, so maybe you think you just have a stomach bug. But then you don’t get better, and you can’t keep down any food. Your body slowly eats itself from the inside without a cure. Eventually you would just wither away.” She took her wand and levitated the flower back to the pot she picked it from. “Much like a well-crafted curse; one may not even realize they were poisoned by wolfsbane if done correctly.”

“You think that somebody is… poisoning Sokka’s magic?”

“Something along those lines.” Bell walked around to the front of her desk, closest to where the boys were sitting, and leaned against the edge. “I knew your mother, dear. She was one of the most powerful witches to come to Hogwarts. Your magic waning… I suspect it is not from a natural cause.” She fidgeted her rings again and continued, “I’m truly sorry, Sokka, that I did not realize this was happening to you sooner. I think this is a good reminder for all of us that what we see from the outside is not always the reality of the situation.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks Headmaster for that... cryptid advice. Who is this lady anyway?? Some old hippie?? Yes. Yes she is. And I love her for it. Hoping to stay on top of these next chapters - I have a pretty good idea of where this story is going at this point. Come say hi on tumblr (@happygoluka) and as always, kudos and comments are super appreciated <3 thank you so much for reading!


	6. Scrimmage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy Sunday! Here, Sokka and Zuko deal with the repercussions of Bell's words... and maybe deal with some feelings, too ;)

To say that Headmaster Bell’s advice was unsettling was most positively an understatement. It brought up more questions than answers. Sokka all but stumbled out of their meeting, head spinning. Zuko had to practically carry him down the spiral staircase and back to the Ravenclaw common room. Nothing helped ease the sense of dread Sokka felt in the weeks leading up to winter break. It felt like Headmaster Bell, despite only wanting to help, had planted one of her aconite seeds in Sokka’s stomach, slowly growing and knotting its way into his organs bit by bit. Even when he slept, his mind still raced. What did it mean that Sokka’s mother and Ozai used to be friends? Did they know each other well outside of what Headmaster Bell saw from her class? Did Kya encourage…  _ no. _ Sokka knew his mother, and tried to keep those thoughts far away from the tornado in his mind. He had run over and over again what Bell had said about Sokka’s magic being  _ poisoned. _ What did that mean? Who -- or  _ what _ \-- would try to do that, and was it even on purpose? He spent many nights in the library, researching different kinds of curses and poisons that might be used to strip his magic away. His attempts were fruitless; nothing recorded matched what he was feeling. To top it off, Sokka’s magic felt weaker than ever. It wasn’t an overstatement when he told Bell it was hard to even cast a  _ lumos _ . He prayed that he wasn’t called on in class to demonstrate any spells and have to fight for his magic in front of all of his peers. 

Zuko had seemed… worried, throughout all of this. Whenever Sokka would glance up at the dining hall, Zuko would already be looking at him, eyes wide, as if he was watching a puppy get kicked. He accompanied Sokka to so many library sessions that Sokka had started sneaking around the other boy, purposefully avoiding letting him know he was headed there. Not that he wanted to avoid Zuko, or was getting sick of him, definitely not. It was just that Sokka didn’t want to worry him more than he already was. Sokka couldn’t shake the feeling that the fact Kya and Ozai knew each other at Hogwarts had  _ something _ to do with this -- and he assumed Zuko had the same suspicions. Neither of them could bring themselves to voice it out loud, however. The last thing Sokka wanted was Zuko feeling guilty, like he could have prevented something from happening. 

Sokka knew the rest of their friends could feel that something was off. Yue had been giving him the same big eyes that Zuko was, and Aang tried to crack more lighthearted, very not-funny jokes around him than was usual. And that’s saying something, for Aang. Toph had even been nicer in her own way, only fake punching Sokka, instead of her normal unadulterated power. 

Katara had cornered Sokka one night, demanding she tell him where he and Zuko kept sneaking off to. 

“As if it’s  _ any  _ of your business, Katara,” Sokka had retorted to her prying questions. “Besides, we’re not sneaking off. You know exactly where we are. It’s called the library. You know, I thought you would remember how to find it.”

Katara ignored the half-hearted jab. “It  _ is  _ my business! My brother is spending  _ excessive amounts of time  _ with the child of somebody who wants to commit  _ genocide  _ againt us! Yes,  _ us, specifically.  _ You do know that we’re what they consider ‘mudbloods,’ right, Sokka?” 

Sokka snorted, appalled. “I thought we were past this,” he hissed. 

And, well. That’s how they ended up, just the three of them, sitting in the Gryffindor common room on a Sunday night, with hot cocoa brought by Zuko acting as a peace offering. Sokka saw it fit to force Katara to spend time with Zuko one-on-one, instead of just ignoring him in the group settings they usually found themselves in. Sokka did have to bribe Katara with the promise of sitting through one of her OWL presentations… which he was very much not looking forward to. 

The fire was roaring, and made the already warm tones of the red and yellow colors even cozier. Sokka had gathered all of the pillows he could find and piled them in front of the heat source, displacing a coffee table in the process. Zuko had sat to his left, and Katara to the right, as far away from Zuko as the setup would allow. 

“Close enough to the fire there?” Sokka stabbed. Katara’s long braids dangled down her back, mere inches away from the flames. She just huffed, flipped her hair to the front, and scooted her pillow half a step closer to the two boys. 

Zuko’s hands fidgeted restlessly on his mug, silver rings clacking gently against the ceramic. His shoulders were tense, and Sokka could hear the shallow breaths coming out of his nose. Katara stuck up her chin distaindely. Looks like it was Sokka’s job to smooth the tension. 

“So,” he started, reaching for a topic to bring up, “bets on who wins in tomorrow’s scrimmage?” He winced at himself. Gryffindor and Ravenclaw had a game together tomorrow, off the record, since there were no official games left before break. Sometimes you could only practice so many drills before the team got itching to play a real opponent. 

Katara snorted, unimpressed. “Gryffindor, obviously. Would you expect us to say anything else? You do know we’re both in this house, right?” she chirped.

Sokka just scrunched his nose and stuck his tongue out. 

“I’m going to have to side with Katara on this one,” Zuko chimed in. He pushed his hair out of his face, finally picking his head up.

Sokka rolled his eyes, “Little biased, don’tcha think? Come on, come on. Let’s say Gryffindor didn’t have their star chaser,” he nudged the raven-haired boy next to him playfully, “and Ravenclaw didn’t have their star seeker,” (himself, duh), “who would win?”

The atmosphere started to relax a little after Sokka got the conversation going. Katara was arguing furiously (despite knowing much about Quidditch) that Gryffindor had the better attack strategy, and therefore would prove the victor. Zuko, on the other hand, said it would be too close to call. Sokka, of course, was still set on defending Ravenclaw.

“Well, Aang says that if the seeker doesn’t--” 

“Oohhh,  _ Aang _ says,” Sokka cut his sister off. “Well, you can tell your boyfriend that I’ve been playing quidditch a longer than he’s been alive--”

Katara’s cheeks turned bright red, and not from the heat of the flames. “Well  _ your _ boyfriend and I both know that Gryffindor is going to win with or without you, so I think we’ve got you outnumbered,” a smug smile spread across her face, proud of herself for the retort. 

Sokka froze, and he was sure that his face was just as bright as his sisters. He snagged a glance at Zuko from the corner of his eye. The other boy was blushing just as hard. Was it weird that neither of them tried to correct Katara? Sokka let the thought hang in his head for a split second before trying to carry the conversation onto a less charged subject, but before he had the chance, Katara was standing up and stretching. Sokka looked up at her, putting as much pleading in his eyes as he could muster. The tension between him and Zuko still hung thick in the air. 

Katara just smirked yet again at Sokka, unsympathetic. “I’ve got an 8 am, boys. Bedtime for me.” Not waiting for a response, she turned and headed up the stairs leading to her room. The fire had died down, and Sokka checked his watch to keep himself busy momentarily. 

22:29 - YOU HAVE MORNING PRACTICE. GO TO BED!

_ I have a scrimmage, not practice,  _ he thought, nitpicking his sister’s charm. He sighed and pulled his sweatshirt sleeve back over it, desperately grasping for something to say to cut the tension. 

“I just wanted to say --” 

“You don’t have to stay up if you don’t want --” Sokka stopped when he heard the other boy try to speak at the same time. “Oh, um, you go.”

Zuko laughed softly, turning his body more towards Sokka. They were both leaned back against the seat of the couch at this point, and had inched closer together throughout the night. 

“Well, I just wanted to reiterate something… you’re not in this alone, Sokka. I’m sorry if I’ve been too… clingy, or too in your face, or if I messed something up by going to Headmaster Bell…” his voice wavered. “I just want you to know that I’m really honored you would trust me enough to help you figure this out, and I’ll support you in any way I can.”

Zuko’s words hung in the air, combining with the smell of the fire and the warm hues of the room, and wrapped around Sokka like a thick blanket. “No, Zuko… I’m sorry if I’ve been more distant. It’s just… a lot to process, I guess.” Sokka raised his eyes to meet the other boy’s. “You have been nothing but helpful. You have nothing to apologize for, okay? I guess I’m just not very used to having somebody to talk to about this kind of stuff.” 

Before Sokka knew it, he was being pulled in towards Zuko by strong arms around his shoulders. He was a bit taken aback at the sudden display of affection, but soon melted into the feeling of Zuko’s hair tickling his nose, and breathed the boy’s scent in deeply. Sokka snaked his arms around Zuko’s lower waist, intertwining on his back. The seconds felt like hours, and he would’ve happily let that become a reality, but forced himself to draw back after a minute. 

“Thanks,” he murmured. “It means more than you know. I mean, you really are a good  _ boyfriend _ , huh?” 

There was a millisecond of silence before Zuko’s face broke into a grin, his bright, wide-mouth, contagious smile. His eyes crinkled up, the left one ever so slightly smaller due to the silky scar that reflected the firelight running across it.  _ Thank god he understood.  _ Sokka could feel his lips pulling back across his teeth too, and soon the two boys were laughing. Not just laughing, but full out cackling.

“God, she got so defensive!” Zuko said in between breaths. “‘ _ Aang says that quidditch is unfair because you can hit people with bats. Aang says that flowers grow because of the love you show them by watering them,’” _ he mocked Katara. 

Sokka just laughed harder, unable to get any air in. His abs started to ache, and his vision started to go blurry with tears. “S-stop, I can’t breathe,” he wheezed. He wasn’t going to admit that 90 percent of what actually took his breath away was Zuko. He had to lay back on Katara’s abandoned pillows before he finally caught his breath. 

He was so, so tired. Worn out from the past few weeks, this was one of the first moments he felt like he could really relax. His eyes began to close involuntarily. He could faintly hear Zuko breathing heavily, still chuckling in the background, but the crackling of the fire was overtaking all of his senses. He felt his mind begin to shut off, unable to do anything to stop it. 

\--

“Sokka, sweetie, come here!” A familiar voice was calling him. Sokka began to run towards it, hearing giggles coming out of his mouth. The snow was thick and deep, and he sunk in with each step.

“Sokka!” The voice yelled, further away this time, and more urgent. He grabbed onto a pine tree, trying to pull himself along through the snow. 

“Sokka! Where are you!?” His heart started to race. 

“Mom!” He yelled back. His voice rang out, shrill through the trees. He vaguely recognized it was a child’s voice. “Mom!” He yelled again. He started to move, but the snow became endlessly deep. The next step he took, he sunk in up to his waist. “Mom! I’m here!”

“Sokka, are you okay?” A different voice this time, deeper and closer. 

His eyes were still heavy with sleep. He squinted them open the tiniest bit. The room was pitch dark. Huh. He and Henry didn’t usually close the drapes at night. 

“Sokka?”

That wasn’t Henry’s voice.

He opened his eyes, wide this time, trying to get them adjusted to the darkness. The sheets were cool on his skin, much silkier than the ones in his own bed. He felt a hand come to rest on his shoulder.

“Sokka, are you awake?”  _ Zuko. _

All of a sudden, he felt a dam break in his body. Tears started flowing out of his eyes. He could hear himself sobbing, but it felt like he was back in a dream, floating in the distance. He felt those strong arms wrap around him tightly again, for the second time that night, pulling him upright. A weight settled next to him in the bed, and bare hands rubbed his back over his sweatshirt. 

“It’s okay, you’re safe,” Zuko said. He sat there with Sokka until the sobs slowed down, eventually coming to an end. He sniffled, suddenly realizing that he was probably getting snot and tears all over Zuko’s shoulder. He wiped his sleeve over it meekly. 

“Sorry,” he whispered. His eyes were more adjusted to the darkness, and he could make out the shapes of Zuko’s face more clearly. A sliver of light came in through the window, reflecting in his irises. He realized his hair was still up in a ponytail, and that combined with the crying gave him a subtle but steadily growing pounding headache. Sokka pulled the hair tie out and guided it onto his wrist instead, letting his hair flop down around the sides of his face.

“Hey,” Zuko said gently, “it’s my turn to tell you that there’s no need to apologize.” His hand was still rubbing on the small of Sokka’s back. “You can go back to sleep if you’d like.”

Sokka shook his head slightly, “I don’t know if I can.” He took a few more deep breaths, relishing the fresh air hitting his lungs. He realized the window was cracked slightly open, and shivered a bit as the breeze hit him out of the covers. 

“Oh, um, I can close the window. I just opened it because it helps me feel better, after, um…” 

“No, no, that’s okay, it helps me too,” Sokka breathed. “I’m assuming that this is your room, and not some random tower you’ve kidnapped me in?” He was feeling more like himself by the second. 

Zuko laughed. Sokka could see his face better now that his eyes were completely adjusted. The soft light made Zuko’s skin glow a pale blue, almost white, and his golden eyes turned brown. “Yes, welcome to the circular hell I get to live in this year.”

Sokka took a real look around the room this time, and realized Zuko was right. The entire far wall was just a semicircle, the two beds pushed up against the only flat wall in the room, on either side of the doorway. He gestured to the other bed, suddenly realizing, wide-eyed, that it was there for another person. Zuko chuckled again and shook his head.

“My roommate doesn’t really, well, live here. They spend their nights at their boyfriend’s. He must have a single.” His hand rubbed the back of his neck, “You fell asleep in the common room… I didn’t want to make you go all the way back to Ravenclaw.” 

“So you carried me up here like a ragdoll?” He tried to make his tone teasing. 

“No, I would never do anything without your consent --”

“Hey, hey, I’m kidding. It’s okay, I promise. Thank you, for taking care of me.”

Zuko laughed, “You must sleep talk, then?”

Sokka was grateful for the low lighting, because a blush crept its way up his neck to his cheeks. “Um, did I say anything too bad?”

Zuko hummed, soft and low, “Hmmm, just that you reeeeallly miss somebody named ‘Sven,’ and you practically were begging me to take you back to Alaska. And, of course, said yes to spending the night in Gryffindor.”

Sokka buried his face in his hands, knowing that Zuko probably wasn’t telling the whole truth, but letting it go. “Sven is my dog back home. But hey, at least  _ I _ don’t drool all over other peoples’ pillows when I sleep.”

“Oh god,” Zuko sounded appalled. 

“Mhmmm,” Sokka hummed gleefully.

Zuko shoved Sokka playfully, finally moving the hand from his lower back. Sokka felt the loss a little more than he’d like to admit. He played up Zuko’s shove, and fell backwards, head landing on the plush pillows. 

“So, either you or your ghost of a roommate has really good taste in sheets. What the hell are these, pure silk?” he said, running his hands over the soft fabric. 

Zuko cleared his throat. “Yeah,” he said softly. “Japanese silk. Reminds me of home. My mom made sure we had some, said they were best for our hair,” he trailed off. 

Sokka didn’t pry, but kept his tone light for Zuko to talk more if he wanted. “Well, I’d rate your hospitality 10 out of 10. Treating me like the royalty I am --” He was cut off by a pillow smacking him in the face. 

“That’s right, your highness,” Zuko laughed. Sokka reached out from under his silk prison to throw the pillow back at the long haired boy sitting in the middle of the bed. Only then did he realize Zuko’s chest was bare, he was wearing only pajama bottoms. Almost invisible white scars drifted up the underside of his pecs, following the muscle. Jesus, how did Zuko even make scars look so beautiful? The cool breeze from the window blew directly onto the bed, and Sokka realized Zuko was shivering slightly, goosebumps covering his body. 

“This silk is warming up pretty nicely,” Sokka said, trying to be nonchalant. He scooched over to the edge of the bed and patted the space next to him.

Zuko smiled and shook his head, eyeing the room Sokka made for him. “Fine,” he murmured, “it is cold.”

After the awkward clamour of trying to fit two growing boys in a twin bed, they settled comfortably on their backs next to each other, arms pressed together. Sokka wished he had taken his hoodie off when he could’ve made up a valid reason to do so earlier. 

“...Are you feeling better?” Zuko said, tentatively.

Sokka turned on his side, to face the other boy. “Yeah,” he breathed, “a lot. Thank you, Zuko.”

He saw the side profile of Zuko’s smile, “Don’t worry about it. I get them too, you know. Nightmares.” He added quickly, “We don’t have to talk about it, though, if you don’t want to.”

Sokka shook his head slightly, “No, it’s fine. I get these ones a lot… somebody I love is calling out for me, and I can’t get to them. Happens when I’m really stressed.” 

Zuko let out a breath, “Yeah, I understand that. I get those too, about my mom, or... I’m sorry you’re so stressed. We’re going to figure this out, okay? You’re going to get your magic back.” 

Sokka nodded, face smushed into the pillow, “It’s nice to have somebody remind me.”

Zuko turned to lay on his side, so they were facing each other. He lifted his hand tentatively, and stroked it through Sokka’s loose hair.

“Does this help?” He whispered. 

The feeling of Zuko’s fingers and nails gently running across his scalp soothed Sokka like nothing else. He felt the tension in his body slowly start to release once again, melting out of him like honey melts into tea. He managed to nod his head, speechless for once. Although his mind was numbing, his heart was racing. He couldn’t focus on anything other than the point of contact between his and Zuko’s skin. He got a taste, and he wanted  _ more. _

Sokka reached his hand up slowly to find Zuko’s, laying it on top of the Gryffindor’s. He heard Zuko’s breath hitch. 

“Zuko, I…” he trailed off. What was he supposed to say? I think you’re really, really beautiful, I’ve never met anybody like you, you’re insanely smart, and I think I’m falling for you? You treat me so well that sometimes it makes me want to cry? I think about you and your insane smile constantly? I’ve never felt like this with anybody?

He quickly made the decision that words weren’t going to cut it on this one. 

“Sokka,” Zuko murmured back, with a smile. 

Sokka shifted his weight so he had more leeway. He moved his hand from Zuko’s to mirror the other boy’s position; one hand on Zuko’s long hair. It was the first time he had touched it. It was so soft. Sokka wondered if the rest of Zuko was as soft as his hair. He decided he wanted to find out.

He leaned in slowly, watching Zuko’s face for any clue that he was anything other than happy. Zuko gave him a slight nod of encouragement, and his smile grew bigger. 

Sokka moved his hand down to the back of Zuko’s neck, and closed the gap in between their lips. 

\--

Sokka awoke in a haze. The curtains were still drawn, the window slightly cracked, and a soft beam of sunlight was streaming through. Zuko’s arm was around his waist, body pressed into his back. Sokka closed his eyes again, listening to the soft breathing of the bigger spoon. He hoped Zuko wasn’t pressed too hard into the wall. It was tight in the twin bed, to put it lightly. Sokka carefully moved his right arm out from underneath his own body, reaching to the small nightstand beside Zuko’s bed where his watch rested. 

08:23 - GET UP, YOU HAVE PRACTICE IN 7 MINUTES, DIPSHIT!

_ Scrimmage,  _ Sokka corrected in his head again. 

“Oh,  _ fuck,” _ he said aloud, once he processed what clock Katara had said. Zuko stirred at that, still half asleep.

“Huh?” he managed to moan out, burrowing his head between Sokka’s shoulders and pulling him closer. Sokka’s heart skipped a beat, and for a second he forgot they had a reason to be stressed. How was he supposed to focus when he had a perfect boy basically begging him to stay in bed? How important was this scrimmage, really?

For once, Sokka cursed being captain.

“Zuko,” he said softly, “we have the scrimmage in seven -- six minutes.”

At that, Zuko sat up, eyes wide. “FUCK!”

The boys jumped out of bed. Sokka soon realised he did not bring  _ any _ of the correct clothes to the Gryffindor dorm with him. He hadn’t really planned on spending the night. Thank god he had left his broom in the locker rooms down by the field. 

As if Zuko could read his mind, he bent down, rummaged through his wardrobe, and threw some clothes at Sokka. 

“Thanks,” Sokka muttered, quickly stripping and pulling his borrowed clothes on, not even bothering to check what Zuko had picked out for him. He wrapped his hair up into his normal wolf tail, and with that, they were headed out the door, racing across campus. 

\-- 

Sokka and Zuko had bid farewell in the hallway leading to the locker rooms and went their separate ways. The sprint to the field had allowed Sokka to collect his thoughts and (vaguely) focus on the game (even though all his brain wanted to do was replay last night over and over in his head). He glanced down at the clock, 8:32 - HAVE A GOOD PRACTICE! They had made it here pretty quickly, all considering. It was when he went to shove the clock back in the pocket of Zuko’s shorts that he realised what he was wearing.

A navy blue, slightly faded Ravenclaw Quidditch t-shirt, which, Sokka was assuming, had Zuko’s number and name displayed upon the back of it.  _ Fuck.  _ He gritted his teeth and prepared for his teammates' gripes as he pushed the door open. Nothing he could do about it now. 

“Nice of you to show up, captain,” Henry laughed as Sokka entered the locker room, trying to act as nonchalant as possible. He waited for the inevitable.

“Wild night there--?” Henry cut himself off, eyes trailing up and down Sokka’s body. His grin got even wider on his face. “Look who decided to fraternize with the enemy!” Henry laughed harder. His teammates’ heads turned from the commotion as they started to realize what was going on. Sokka just gritted his teeth and walked over towards his locker where his broom sat. 

“Nice job there, Sokks,” one of his fellow sixth years, Greta, smiled and clapped him on the shoulder. 

“In  _ too  _ much of a rush this morning huh?” 

“Oh, just  _ wait _ till Suki sees this one.”

Sokka straightened his shoulders and laughed with the rest of the team, owning up to it. He couldn’t help the small part of him that liked people knowing something was going on between him and Zuko. 

“I’m assuming nobody has a spare shirt?”

  
“Definitely not, buddy,” Henry walked up to him again, “this one’s too good to cover up.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FINALLY! One of them had the guts to do it! Sokka clearly doesn't remember his and Zuko's bet... maybe Zuko didn't just accidentally grab that shirt ;)  
> You guys will see I added some more tags to the story, and more will come along the way as I update more. Tune in next time for a trip back home for break, and all the chaos that ensues...  
> As always, kudos and comments are super appreciated! Come say hi on tumblr (@happygoluka) I am way more than happy to talk about this story with y'all!


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